2025-06-19
News Categories : Committee News
At the Committee on Public Accounts (COPA) meeting held yesterday (Jun. 18), it was revealed that the North Central Provincial Council had carried out the rehabilitation of 53 roads damaged by floods in 2011 based on an additional estimate of Rs. 1,170 million. This fact was later discovered during an investigation conducted in 2013 by a team of engineers from the University of Peradeniya, which also revealed that the construction of these roads lacked proper standards, leading to the suspension of payments to the contractors, according to officials.
These revelations were made during the COPA meeting chaired by Hon. MP Aravinda Senarath, convened in Parliament yesterday (18) to discuss the 2023 Auditor General’s report and the current performance of the North Central Provincial Council. The Secretary to the Ministry of Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government, the Chief Secretary of the North Central Province, and several officials from the North Central Provincial Council participated in the meeting.
It was disclosed that the estimate for these 53 roads was Rs. 3,592 million and that multiple small-scale projects, each valued at less than Rs. 5 million, were created for a single road, resulting in 741 contracts awarded through limited bidding processes. It was further revealed that dividing the same road into multiple small projects costing under Rs. 5 million allowed the projects to be implemented with the approval of the then Director General of the Provincial Road Development Authority.
Moreover, it was noted that these projects had been distributed among only seven contractors without a public tender process. One of these contractors had received 629 projects (covering 42 roads) worth Rs. 2,934 million. Officials stated that based on the contractor's financial capacity and experience, contracts worth only Rs. 300-600 million should have been awarded. It was also discussed that this contracting company was linked to a politician who held power in the North Central Province at the time.
Accordingly, it was revealed that payments of up to Rs. 45 million had been made for 1 km of road that would typically cost around Rs. 11 million, indicating severe corruption. Despite such large expenditures, the roads had deteriorated quickly due to substandard construction.
The main official involved in this incident, who served as the Acting General Manager of the Provincial Road Development Authority at the time, is now deceased. It was further revealed that he had previously served at the Mahaweli Authority and had been dismissed due to allegations of treasure hunting. Additionally, officials who opposed these corrupt activities faced various hardships, and the General Manager of the Provincial Road Development Authority appointed thereafter was sent on retirement in 2015 by the then Chief Minister of the province due to rejecting payments to these contractors.
Officials of the Finance Commission also pointed out that allocating such a large amount of funds to a Provincial Council for road development itself was problematic. It was discussed that this situation arose due to the influence of the Minister of Economic Development at that time.
The COPA Chair stated that it was deeply regrettable that the tax money of hardworking farmers in the North Central Province had been defrauded in this manner, and described this incident as one of the most corrupt events in the country’s road development history. Accordingly, the committee recommended identifying the officials involved and taking necessary steps to recover the misappropriated funds. It was also recommended to lodge complaints with the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption and the Criminal Investigation Department, and to submit a report regarding the political authority involved in this incident.
Attention was also drawn to an agreement made in 2017 with a construction company to build an auditorium for Palugasdamana Maha Vidyalaya for Rs. 542,019,300 (Rs. 542 million). It was revealed that although an advance of Rs. 100 million had been paid to the contractor, the construction had been abandoned at the initial stage. It was discussed that allocating such a large amount of funds without any feasibility study to a school with less than 500 students was unjustifiable, and that the decision had been made solely based on the then Chief Minister of the North Central Province. Furthermore, it was discussed that the contractor had close ties with the political authority.
The committee recommended that an investigation be carried out into the officials involved in this now-defunct project and that necessary actions be taken to recover the funds if any misconduct is found. The officials were instructed to submit a report regarding this matter within three weeks.
Hon. Members of Parliament Dr. M.L.A.M. Hizbullah, Chamara Sampath Dassanayake, Sagarika Athauda, Attorney at Law, Oshani Umanga, Thushari Jayasinghe, Attorney-at-Law, T.K. Jayasundara, Susantha Kumara Nawarathna, Sunil Rathnasiri, and Dinindu Saman Hennayake participated in the COPA meeting held.
2025-09-12
The Committee on Public Finance has granted approval for the 2026 budget estimate of the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC).This approval was granted during a meeting of the Committee held yesterday (Sep. 11th ) in Parliament, chaired by Hon. Dr. Harsha de Silva, Member of Parliament.During the meeting, the Chairman of the Committee pointed out that just as the Central Bank of Sri Lanka experience the financial independence, it is important to grant financial autonomy to institutions such as the Bribery Commission (CIABOC) and the Auditor General’s Department to ensure greater independence in their operations. He further stated that with such financial independence, these institutions would be able to function more autonomously, irrespective of which government is in power, and free from prevailing political authority. Accordingly, the Committee decided to inform the Minister of Finance, who is also the President, about this matter.Additionally, Hon. Dr. Harsha de Silva stated that the remuneration of the Chairman, Director General, and members of the Commission should be aligned with that of the President of the Court of Appeal. Therefore, as the salary of the President of the Court of Appeal is revised, the salaries of these officials should also be revised accordingly. The Committee Chair also noted that the necessary intervention will be made in this regard.Members of Parliament Ravi Karunanayake, Harshana Rajakaruna, (Dr.) Kaushalya Ariyaratne, Wijesiri Basnayake, Sunil Rajapaksha, Nimal Palihena, Thilina Samarakoon, and Nishantha Jayaweera participated in the meeting.
2025-09-12
For the first session of the Tenth Parliament, Hon. Member of Parliament Kabir Hashim was appointed as the new Chair of the Committee on Public Accounts (COPA). This appointment fills the vacancy created following the resignation of Hon. Member of Parliament Aravinda Senarath, who served as the Chair of the Committee on Public Accounts (COPA) for the first session of the Tenth Parliament, on 06.08.2025. The Committee convened in Parliament today (Sep. 12) to elect the new Chairman. For the position of Chair, the name of Hon. MP Kabir Hashim was proposed and seconded respectively by Hon. Members of Parliament J.C. Alawathuwala and Rohitha Abeygunawardhana. Subsequently, addressing the Committee, the new Chair stated that he expects to carry out his duties in a neutral manner, free from political bias, with the cooperation of all members. He further expressed his special appreciation for the work performed by former Chair Hon. Member of Parliament Aravinda Senarath and stated that he expects to carry out the responsibilities of his office even more effectively. Moreover, the new Chair indicated that he is prepared to take the necessary measures to further systematize the functions of the COPA Committee by formulating new plans. The occasion was also attended by Hon. Deputy Minister Sugath Thilakaratne, Hon. MPs (Dr.) M.L.A.M. Hizbullah, Rohitha Abeygunawardhana, J.C. Alawathuwala, Chamara Sampath Dasanayake, Hector Appuhamy, (Dr.) Kavinda Heshan Jayawardhana, Oshani Umanga, Ruwanthilaka Jayakody, Thushari Jayasingha, Attorney at Law, M.A.M. Thahir, Lal Premanath, Chanaka Madugoda, as well as Parliament officials including Director (Legislative Services) and Acting Director (Communication) M. Jayalath Perera.
2025-09-11
The Committee on Public Finance reviewed the country’s income, expenditure, and debt conditions during the first half of 2025. This took place at a meeting of the committee held in Parliament on the 9th September 2025, chaired by Honorable Member of Parliament Dr. Harsha de Silva. Accordingly, the Sri Lankan government has reported a strong fiscal performance for the first half of 2025 compared to the total revenue for the first six months of 2024, exceeding the mid-year target, officials from the Ministry of Finance informed the Committee. Presenting data, Finance Ministry officials pointed out that the total revenue collected from the half-yearly estimated income of Rs. 2,241 billion from January to June 2025 was Rs. 2,318 billion, which exceeded the half-yearly estimate by 3%. Meanwhile, the total government expenditure in the first half of 2025 was Rs. 3,467 billion, an increase of Rs. 367 billion compared to the expenditure in the first six months of 2024. The main reason for this increase has been debt servicing, which was Rs. 1,984 billion in the first half of 2025. Recurring expenditure on essential public services, including public sector salaries, pensions, social security programs such as ‘Aswesuma’ and ‘Samurdhi’, has also increased, Finance Ministry officials said. Furthermore, the Sri Lanka Customs Department has recorded a revenue of Rs. 996 billion between January and June 2025, recording a growth of 47% compared to the year 2024 (January - June). The revenue received from the import of automobiles contributed significantly to this growth, which had received Rs. 429 billion. Since the opening of vehicles for import, 220,026 vehicles have been imported into Sri Lanka so far, of which 154,537 vehicles have been cleared by Sri Lanka Customs, the Finance Ministry officials pointed out. Furthermore, the Hon. Members of the Committee also inquired from the Sri Lanka Customs Department about the issues faced by importers due to the time taken at Customs for container clearance activities of 9 - 10 days. Accordingly, the departmental officials informed the committee that a method is being developed to resolve the issue and complete the clearance of the relevant goods within 2-3 days. The Inland Revenue Department (IRD) also reported an increase, reporting an income of Rs. 1,040,388 million out of the estimated income of Rs. 1,022,691 million in the first half of 2025. Here, the departmental officials pointed out that TIN (Tax Identification Number) numbers have been issued for about 1.3 million Sri Lankans over the age of 18. Here, the Chairman questioned whether the expected economic growth target for this year can be achieved based on this data. However, Finance Ministry officials said that it can be assumed that economic growth will be around 3.1% this year. The Chairman of the Committee also instructed the officials to take steps to inform the Committee about the policy of the Ministry of Finance regarding the tax policy applied to cigarettes. The Committee also discussed the discrepancy between the forecasts made by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka and the Ministry of Finance regarding the country's foreign reserves at the end of the year. The meeting was attended by the Hon. Members of Parliament Ravi Karunanayake, Harshana Rajakaruna, Ajith Agalakada, M.K.M. Aslam, (Dr.) Kaushalya Ariyaratne, Nimal Palihena, Attorney-at-Law Chitral Fernando, Wijesiri Basnayake, Sunil Rajapaksa, Champika Hettiarachchi, Attorney-at-Law Lakmali Hemachandra, and Nishantha Jayaweera.
2025-09-10
The Sectoral Oversight Committee on Education, Manpower and Human Capital appointed this subcommittee in order to take necessary measures aimed at creating young entrepreneurs through the National Youth Services Council. This subcommittee, which will be chaired by Hon. Member of Parliament Sunil Rajapaksha, consists of Hon. Members of Parliament Chanaka Madugoda, Nilusha Lakmali Gamage, Attorney at Law, Krishnan Kalaichelvi, and Sujeewa Dissanayake as its other members. The subcommittee was appointed at the meeting of the Sectoral Oversight Committee on Education, Manpower and Human Capital, chaired by Hon. Member of Parliament Hesha Withanage Ankumbura Arachchi, which was held yesterday (Sep. 09) in Parliament. Accordingly, this committee is expected to hold discussions with various institutions and individuals in order to take more practical measures for the creation of young entrepreneurs through the National Youth Services Council and to report on the same. The committee chair recalled the individuals produced by the National Youth Services Council for various fields such as arts and sports, and emphasized the importance of treating this program of creating entrepreneurs for the youth community as a national program. Furthermore, the committee chairman inquired about the present status of the Youth Parliament conducted by the National Youth Services Council. Officials informed the committee that the Youth Parliament has currently been dissolved and that arrangements are being made to re-establish it by holding an election next year. The committee chairman emphasized the necessity of carrying out the selection process of members for the Youth Parliament with greater transparency. The following Hon. Members of Parliament participated in this meeting: Hon. Ajith P. Perera, Hon. (Dr.) V.S. Radhakrishnan, Hon. K. Ilankumaran, Hon. Krishnan Kalaichelvi, Hon. Nilusha Lakmali Gamage, Attorney at Law, Hon. Sugath Wasantha de Silva, Hon. Sujeewa Dissanayake, Hon. Chanaka Madugoda, Hon. Sanjeewa Ranasingha, Hon. Thurairasa Ravikaran, and Hon. Sunil Rajapaksha.
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